Art materials for the entertainment and developmental benefit of children are well-known. For example, drawing and writing materials, such as pencils and crayons, are typically given to children to produce artwork and to stimulate the children's creativity and imagination. To contribute to a pleasant use experience for children, pencil cores and crayons must be capable of smooth laydown and high intensity or vibrancy of the resulting colored markings. Pencils and crayons must also be sufficiently flexible and resist breakage such that they can be used by children without snapping. Other beneficial characteristics are the ability to layer and alter the shade of colored marks during use and the ability to substantially erase the colored marks.
Unfortunately, a significant drawback related to typical colored pencils and crayons is that when used by children, they often contribute to messy staining and marking of unintended objects, such as carpets, furniture, walls, or clothing. As a result, adults are often hesitant to provide such crayons and colored pencils to children to avoid potential stains of unintended surfaces.
Thus, there exists a need for writing or marking compositions that prevent formation of stains on surfaces unintended for marking and that develop marks or color only when applied to an intended substrate or surface for marking. Particularly, there exists a need for writing compositions that are substantially non-staining or marking on unintended objects such as carpets, furniture, walls, and clothing, but can generate a varied range of colors when used in conjunction with and applied to an intended substrate.